1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer security, and more particularly but not exclusively to methods and apparatus for protecting digital content.
2. Description of the Background Art
Various data leakage prevention products are commercially available for protecting confidential information, such as company intellectual property, from unauthorized distribution and access. Generally speaking, data leakage prevention involves classifying content to determine if the content is confidential, and then safeguarding the perimeters of a network to ensure that confidential content is not sent out of the network without required authorization. For example, a company or organization may employ data leakage prevention to restrict access to confidential information and prevent the confidential information from being transmitted outside its enterprise network.
While currently available data leakage prevention techniques are relatively effective, they pose significant usability issues. More specifically, data leakage prevention as currently implemented involves tedious setup and configuration, which are typically manually performed by the user or administrator. For example, to prevent leakage of a confidential document outside an enterprise network, a user may place the confidential document in a designated file server. An administrator manually categorizes the confidential document and selects the confidential document's content sensitivity, access criteria, and protection method. The more document that needs to be protected, the more tedious content protection becomes.